THE death of Agfa Classic; What Paper do you use?

[MarshallS]

I'm hurtin.

I've been using the neutral Oriental for a bit now and it's very nice but I find myself dying for that familiar hint of warmth and richness. I know ilford released the "warmtone" developer and I'm thinking of playing with it.

That said, what paper do you guys use and have any die hard agfa classic fans found something acceptable to fill its place?

[Christopher Perez]

I needed to find a replacement for Kodak's PolyMax FineArt. After using Oriental and Ilford for a year I have settled on Forte' Polygrade. It's amazing stuff.

[Brian K]

Chris I tried Forte and had 2 big problems with it. First there was a serious piss yellow tint to it when it came out of fixer. So bad that it was impossible to evaluate test prints until they were well washed, for like a half hour. The second problem was an uneveness to the semi gloss (kodak f type) surface. Have you had these problems?

[Arne Croell]

Chris I tried Forte and had 2 big problems with it. First there was a serious piss yellow tint to it when it came out of fixer. So bad that it was impossible to evaluate test prints until they were well washed, for like a half hour. The second problem was an uneveness to the semi gloss (kodak f type) surface. Have you had these problems?

I haven't used Forte in many years, but a similar gloss problem occurred with Agfa's Record rapid aka Insignia for a while. This could be cured by "steaming" the print, i.e. move for the surface into the steam over a pot or tea kettle with boiling water for a few seconds. Might be worth a try.

[reellis67]

If you are looking for a warmer tone, try the Ilford MGWT paper. You can also try a warmtone developer, split sepia toning, or fully selenium toning either warmtone paper or neutral paper. I know that many people prefer to stick to one routine, but I use a number of different developer and toner combinations to get what I am looking for with any given print. Right now I am printing on Ilford papers (MGIV and MGWT) but I am also testing the response of a couple of other papers just to see what they can provide.

- Randy

[Christopher Perez]

This is interesting. I have experienced neither of these issues. In fact, the gloss is better than what I've found with recent Ilford.

What developer did you use? (regarding the yellow piss)

Chris I tried Forte and had 2 big problems with it. First there was a serious piss yellow tint to it when it came out of fixer. So bad that it was impossible to evaluate test prints until they were well washed, for like a half hour. The second problem was an uneveness to the semi gloss (kodak f type) surface. Have you had these problems?

[Andrew O'Neill]

I needed to find a replacement for Kodak's PolyMax FineArt. After using Oriental and Ilford for a year I have settled on Forte' Polygrade. It's amazing stuff.

Couldn't agree with you more, Christopher. I've been using it for years.

Chris I tried Forte and had 2 big problems with it. First there was a serious piss yellow tint to it when it came out of fixer. So bad that it was impossible to evaluate test prints until they were well washed, for like a half hour. The second problem was an uneveness to the semi gloss (kodak f type) surface. Have you had these problems?

What?? Yes, there is a slight yellow tint, but it was always gone after first fix. Uneven gloss?? Again, I find this strange. I've been using this paper for almost 10 years with never any problems. This is one fine paper that responds beautifully to different developers and tones wonderfully. For my last 3 shows I used this paper exclusively.

[Andrew O'Neill]

What developer did you use? (regarding the yellow piss)

I know this is directed towards Brian but...I can't help myself. I've used just about everything, finally settling on Ilford MG developer. Sometimes I use a pyro developer, Dectol, Caffinol (instant coffee and washing soda)...for warmer tones.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I know ilford released the "warmtone" developer and I'm thinking of playing with it.

SKPhoto, tell me more about this developer...I've never heard of it.

[Andrew O'Neill]

By the way SkPhoto, what does "FU64 is for the children", mean? Just curious...